After 23 years in prison, Ahmed El-Rayyan was released on Tuesday, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky Onetime millionaire businessman Ahmed El-Rayyan was released from prison on Tuesday following a deal with the North Giza prosecutor. His release had been ordered early last week but was held up following a wrangle over LE900,000 El-Rayyan still owed. Under the deal he eventually paid LE200,000, with the balance to be paid in instalments over seven months. If El-Rayyan had failed to reach a deal he would have faced an additional 93 days in prison. His daughter Maha was quoted in media interviews as saying that her father's health was deteriorating and the additional 90 days in detention could have resulted in his death. She also claimed that the businessman's family had received anonymous calls warning them not to speak about any "Egyptian officials involved in the collapse of El-Rayyan's companies" following his release. During the late 1980s tens of thousands of Egyptians invested their savings in El-Rayyan-owned Islamic investment companies, which promised a minimum 24 per cent interest payment on deposits. When, in 1988, and following massive losses on the London Stock Exchange, El-Rayyan's companies declared bankruptcy many families lost their life savings. The collapse of El-Rayyan's companies threatened the Egyptian economy at a time when Egypt's foreign debt amounted to billions of dollars. It also exposed weaknesses in the Egyptian banking system, as well as systemic corruption. In the aftermath of the collapse the Egyptian government asked the World Bank for technical assistance in helping to reform its banking and financial system. After El-Rayyan went to prison, the government liquidated his companies in an attempt to reimburse investors. In addition, El-Rayyan agreed to pay LE1.75 billion from bank accounts held abroad to businessmen. Even so, 129 cases were filed against him.
